A small, black-haired boy tugged at the fingers of a man who looked like an older copy of himself, walking as quickly as possible without rudely yanking his father forward. The boy's spiky hair stuck out from under a faded, backwards ball cap, his loose shirt hanging at the armpits, pants cuffed up high at the ankles to make up for the long length. His over-tight sneakers suffered worn holes and missing pieces of rubber, though this did nothing to slow the boy's prancing gait. Bright, eager eyes shone straight forward, never looking back once, and when a small building came into view, the boy could no longer hold it in. A loud gasp escaped his lips before his face split in a grin. He was off like a Zubat out of Hell, straight towards the structure.
"Justin, wait for your papa!" The older man called, shaking his head and smiling as he to a canter. Red-and-white spheres softly clinked against the metal fasteners holding them onto the man's belt. A hand hovered over the Pokéballs as protection so they wouldn't get jostled badly.
Justin giggled, eyes still trained on the building. It was a humble place-the square footage couldn't have been over 1,000, the siding bore peeling paint, and a sign that read [I]'Pokémon Breeder'[/I] in hand-painted lettering squeaked above a splintering wooden door . A low, homemade fence hung around in a rectangular perimeter just behind the building, where a bunch of varied creatures were playing, napping, eating, drinking, snuggling together, or... wait, what were those two doing? Justin wondered vaguely why a couple of foxes were climbing on top of each other in the corner. It looked like they were playing leapfrog?
He was about to investigate further as he ran up until an elderly man sporting a pipe between his lips came through the old wooden door. Dark eyes investigated the boy, calculating.
"Mmph. Just a kid. You a trainer?" The man wasted no time getting down to business, arms crossed. Justin panted from his run up the hill, but noticed with a little twinge of nervousness that the old man was really tall. A thick, yellow-white beard coated the man's lower face, and one eye was squinted halfway shut. There were no signs of a smile on the man's face, but Justin noticed crow's feet by the old man's eyes. Justin relaxed a little at this.
"Today's gonna be my first day," Justin explained with a huge grin. The old man chuckled, the noise a bit muffled by a set of smoker's lungs.
"I bet you're excited, then. You got someone with y-Ah," The man stopped speaking as soon as he saw Justin's father approach. The younger adult clutched his side, panting a lot harder than the ten-year-old had been.
"You must be the boy's father, then. Name's Edgar. You?"
Justin piped up, "My name's Justin! And my dad's name is..." the boy hesitated, realizing how impolite it would be to call his father by his first name.
"Mike," the man interrupted, finally standing up fully. He shot his son a quick glare for running off, though the pleasure of seeing his son's excitement softened it. "Nice to meet you, sir. We spoke over the phone yesterday."
Edgar nodded. "Yeah, I remember you. Saved up t' get the boy a Pokémon for his birthday, right? Come in, then." The old man turned and pushed the door open, not waiting for an answer. "You got a Pokémon in mind?" The old man called behind him as he led them to the backside of his cottage.
"Yes. My boy and I looked for something that would be strong enough to protect him, but would also bond well as a first Pokémon partner." Justin looked up at his father as he spoke. "We'd like a Riolu, either gender, please. Preferably from good stock, if it's not too expensive."
The old man rubbed his chin and stopped walking. He turned and looked in Justin's direction, though his one-eyed gaze was somewhat far away. "Hmm... well, their parents were... but it shouldn't matter..." Edgar started mumbling to himself. "Won't affect the baby, I don't think..."
"What? What is it?" Mike asked, concerned. Edgar shook his head.
"Ah, it's nothing really. The parents of this litter left the enclosure for some strange reason, and I think it had somethin' to do with their owner. He wasn't a kind man, exactly. But the pair of 'em were prolly the strongest Lucario I'd ever seen, if I'm bein' honest. S'just..." Edgar scratched at his beard. "It's rare and really unusual for a Pokémon to leave their masters, even if that master becomes abusive. More often n' not, I see Pokémon die from it rather than leave." He shrugged. "But I don't think it really matters, since these are their babies and they won't know a thing about it. Shouldn't be a problem."
"Hmm... that is unusual, but... I agree. I don't think that would affect how the Pokémon's children act," came Mike's slow agreement. He then sighed and brought out his wallet, causing Justin to start bouncing on the balls of his toes. "How much do I owe ya for one of them?"
"Ahh... we'll go with 120 thou' of them suckers," Edgar said.
"That's... aren't they usually more expensive than that?" Mike asked before he could stop himself. Pokémon babies, especially Riolu, went for almost double that price on a normal basis. For the old man to give it to them so cheap… was he eager to just get rid of these eggs?
"Yeah, but like I said," Edgar told him, "There was some strange history with the parents of these kiddos. It don't feel right givin' ya a raw deal."
Mike pulled out the money and handed it over, choosing not to question it any farther. "Well, if you say so." As he handed Edgar the cash, a niggling thought that there was a wrongness to his scene jumped to the front of his mind. His was of cash made it halfway to Edgar's outstretched hand before he hesitated.. He could still go back on this, and go home empty-handed... Mike looked down into his son's face, brightened by the hope and joy of having a life partner in the Pokémon his father was about to buy for him.
Mike shook his head and gave Edgar the money. Of course he wouldn't do something so cruel as to deny Justin his right to a first Pokémon, as he'd promised.
"All right then," Edgar gruffed as he stuffed the wad into his pocket. "C'mon, boy, and choose an egg."
Justin squealed with delight as he ran down to the clutch of eggs Edgar had pointed to, brushing a hand against each one. Gentle warmth radiated from each egg, along with a strange, alien feeling that infiltrated his mind. It was like... he was looking at someone else, and seeing their happiness. It twined with his own eager excitement and joy, like he was feeling a stranger's emotions along with his own.
As he laid hands on the last one, however, no such warmth came from it. A spike of cold terror jabbed at Justin's mind so hard that he yanked his hand back, akin to the instant reaction to touching a hot stove.
"It's okay," he told it in a soothing voice. "Shh..." Justin touched the egg again, and the cold feeling washed over his mind once more, though it was less surprised this time. This one wasn't joyful, like the others had been-it was afraid.
"Hey, it's okay. I can take care of you," Justin cooed. He folded the egg into his lap. The two adults watched in silence. "Shh, shh. You're a... you're a girl? And... you're so little... and scared."
Justin smiled. "I think you should come home with me. I can protect you! So don't be afraid," the boy told the speckled oval. He looked over at his father. "This one. Definitely."
Mike felt his persistent doubt creep up on him again. But the way his son cradled that egg...
"Well... if you're sure, yeah. Let's take it home."
"It's a she, Dad."
"Hmm?" Mike hummed in question.
"It's a she. I'm gonna name her..." Justin looked up in thought for a moment. "...Natalia. Like that wrestler lady from TV!"
Mike looked dumbfounded, then threw his head back with a hearty laugh. All his baseless doubts were forgotten. "Oh, that's a great name, son! Let's take little Natalia home, then!"
The father took his son's hand, who, in turn, clutched the small life inside the egg under his arm. The two of them waved at Edgar and walked home. Justin's smile was soft as he glanced down at his new partner.
"I'll protect you, Natalia. I promise."
Six months later, Justin was dead.